GEORGE TOWNSHEND (29/08/1882 – 18/02/1967)
George was born on a farm in East Chiltington and spent his boyhood on farms where his father was the manager or in pubs where his father was publican. Most of his adult working life was spent working on the Brighton & South Coast Railway company, before joining the railway police ending up as a sergeant. After retiring from the police, he took a job as court usher at the County Court in Lewes whilst living with one of his daughters in Garden Street by the station.
Most of his songs were learned from his father and the pair of them sang them together in harmony with the father taking the bass part and the son the treble. The Townshends knew the Copper Family and they would meet occasionally to sing together. There were quite a number of songs that were in both families’ repertoire and apparently they had close stylistic similarities.
George continued singing on his own after his father’s death and was always keen to sing on public. In the 1950s he met with other singers in pubs like The Punchbowl, The Oak Tree, in Ardingly and The Cherry Tree in Copthorne. It was at these pubs that he came to the attention of Tony Wales and Brian Matthews, all of whom recorded him. He sang at an early Folk Festival in Horsham and also several times at Cecil Sharp House.
(Vic Smith 2015)
(For a more detailed biography of George Townshend, see the on-line version of his Musical Traditions album notes at
http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/townshe2.htm )
DISCOGRAPHY
Come Hand to Me the Glass (Double CD 2012) Musical Traditions (MTCD305)
Recordings by Brian Matthews
CD 1
CD2
‘Ripest Apples’ Various Artists (Veteran VT 107)
The Ploughboy’s Joy
‘Songs & Music of the Sussex Weald’ Various Artists (Folktape FTA 102)
Glittering Dewdrops
When the Spring Comes in
‘It was on a Market Day ‘ Various Artists Veteran (VTC7CD)
The Ploughboy’s Joy
George Townshend was also recorded on the limited issue long-deleted LP “Welcome to the Festival” (FB12 101) but I have not been able to trace this.
George in the uniform of Court Usher in Lewes.
eds-v29-no3-autumn67--70-73-george-townshend.pdf
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profile-george-townshend.pdf
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cb-p172-p174-george-townshend.pdf
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Glittering dewdrops that spangles in the morn, The
When the spring comes in the birds do sing